Piano-truck.



A. T. RAYNOR.

PIANO TRUCK.

APPLIOATION FILED SBPT.14, 1911.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. T. RAYNOR.

PIANO TRUCK.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1911. 1 ,035,903.y

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Aug. 20,1912.

ALBERT T. RAYNOR, 0F FINDLAY, 07H10.

PIAN O-TBUCK.

Hpeoitloation of Letters Patent. Application led September 14, 1911.1. Serial No. 849,841.

Patented Aug.20,1912.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. RAYNoR. a citizen ,of the United States, and a resident of Findlay, in the county of Hancock and 'State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in PianoeTrucks, of which the ollowing is a full and clear specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of my improved trucks, showing it applied to a piano;'Fig. 2 a front elevation thereof; Fig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section ot' the truck; and Figs. 4 :md5 detail vertical sectionsl showing the manner of using tht` roller between the casters.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple truck for use in expediting the moving about of pianos, heavy boxes, etc., and the invention consists of certain novel features of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

rlhis truck is adapted especially to be used in pairs, one at each end or side of the article which is to be moved. I have illustrated but one ofthe trucks in the drawing.

The truck consists of a pair of vertical bars o connected rigidly by horizontal bars l) and diagonal brace rods c, the said bars l) being each provided with a suitable strip of cushioning material to prevent the surface of the piano or other article being marred by contact with the bars. The lower extremity of each of these bars is bent forwardly, and at the extreme forward ends of these bent portions they are provided with upstanding Shar points. The frame just described is a apted to be placed against the end or side of the piano or box, and the lower bent extremities of the side bars are inserted under the article, the article (if it be a box) first having been raised from the floor by a suitable crow-bar or jack sufficiently to permit the bent arms to be inserted far enough under the article tobring the cushions against the adjacent side thereof.

Slidabl each of t e side bars a is a sliding vertical bar g, these bars bein confined slldably to the. bars a by means o vcli s h carried by the bars g. These slidable Ears g have 4their upper ends bent horizontally outward to form bearinvs g and their lower endsl are bent outward and rigidly bolted to a horizontal'cross plate or bar z', Swivelly mountmounted on the outer face ofl ed on the under side of the horizontal bar or plate i is a pair of casters j, one at each end of the bar, and jurnaled in bearings depending from thelwe'r face of the bar 27, between the casters is 11i-horizontal roller c. This roller is` free to rotate backwardly but is prevented from rotating forwardly lgy means of a spring pawl Z attached to the ar z.

The slidable roller-carrying frame is moved upland down'byl a lever arrangement, consisting of a transverse' rod fm. having connected to it a baillike handle n and carrying at its extreme ends rollers o which are adapted to bear upon the upper faces of the bearing arms g'. Clips are fastened to the ends of the rod m and fien't so as to extend inwardly under the bearing arms g', and attached to said rod m near cach of its ends is a short arm q whose upper end is pivotally connected to the front face of the adjacent bar a by means of a horizontal pivot r. Each of these arms g is provided with a spring clip s which is adapted to spring over the inner edge ofthe adjacent bar a and lock the lever framedown, when the lever frame is adjusted to that position.

After attaching the main frame to the piano or box in the manner set forth, the lever frame (consisting of a bail, transverse rod and short'arms g) v1s swung downwardly, with its rollers impinging against the upper faces of the arms g and rolling toward the main frame bars. If sufficienti/leverage be applied, the resultin action will be to lift the main frame togeier with its burden oil the floor a short distance land thus shift the weight of the box or piano entirely upon the casters. When the lever frame is swung downwardly to a vertical position, as shown, the clips .s sna over the inner edges of the side bars a -an lock the lever frame in that position. In this locked position the short arms g lie against the main frame bars a and in a vertical position, so that the weight. of the piano or other article is transmitted directly through the short arms and the rollers on the ends of the rod m to the uprights of the slidable frame. When another truck similarly constructed is applied to the other side or end of the article to be moved, the article may be readily rolled about on the floor, the casters permitting the article to be readily moved in any direction.

It is sometimes desirable in moving the article about, especially in moving it up a plank laid on a stair-way to tilt the article over toward the o erator, side or end standing at an angle of about forty degrees; in this position the casters will swing forwardly out of the way and. the weight will be brought entirely upon the roller, whereupon the article mayV be'ie'adily rolled straight forwardly up an incline or on a level. When moving the article up an incline in this tilted position it is desirable to prevent the roller. rotating .forwardly as to permit such rotationlwould permit the truck and its load to move'baekwardly down the incline; to do this I provide the spring pawl l which engages ratchet teeth on one end of the roller. It will be observed that the roller lc has its aXis above and a little to the rear of the axes of. the casters when thecasters are in position to bring their axes in alinement, the object of this arrangement being to keep the roller above and out of contact with the floor until the truck is tipped backwardly a suicient distance to .lift the casters 0H the floor and bring the weight upon the roller.

When this truck is used on pianos, one truck is applied to each end of the piano and these two trucks are fastened t-o the piano by long straps passed around underneath and over the top of the piano. When the truck is applied to boxesany suitable device may be employed to fasten it to the side or end of thebox to which it is applied.

.I have shown in the drawing a lag screw t mounted on-the frame in such position that after the truck is applied to the box the screw may be turned and forced into the box suiiiciently to fasten the truck thereto, the screw having a suit-able gimlet oint to enable it to readily enter the Woo of the box. This screw is mounted slidably in the upper eiid of a bar u which is pivotally supported on a bolt 'v which passes through and clamps together the two diagonal cross braces oat their point of intersection. The Screw is slidably mounted within the downwardly with its adjacent bent portion of the upper end of the bar, and its endwise movement is limited by a nut-like enlargement w on the'screw. 'Ilhis limited sliding movement of the screw. enables -the screw to be pulled back so as ite avoid injuring the piano when the truck is used on pianos.

rIhe object of mounting the screw t in the upper end of the swinging bar u is .to per'-` 55 mit the screw to be bodily swung sidewise; H

a limited distance to enable the screw to be fastened to the box or crate at the most desirable point, that is, at a dpoint where the box casing is best adapte to receive the screw.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In combination with a frame ada ted to engage the article to be moved, a sli able frame mounted on the outer face thereof and carrying casters at its lower end and outwardly extending bearing arms at its upper end, and a lever arrangement con.- sisting of a handle and atransverse bar and a pair of arms carried -by the bar and pivotally attached atltheir upper ends to the article-engaging frame, said rod being provided with rollers which run on said bearing arms, for the purpose set forth. Y

2. rIhe combination with a truck of the type set fort-h, of a plate mounted on the truck and capable of a movement from side to side, and a wood screw mounted on said plate and movable with it, said screw having its enteringl end pointing forwardly and being provided with means for turning it,

whereby the truck may be fastened to the Y side of the box to be transported.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the-presence of two'witnesses. A

ALBERT T. RAYNOR. Witnesses:

PERRY J. BIGHAM, JAMES CULLEN. 

